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The Chronicle
Volume41,Number25 WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. THURSDAY, February 26, 2015
liberty CDC will dissolve
BY CHANEL DAVIS
THE CHRONICLE
Six months ago, James "Jim" Shaw announced that he
would be resigning as president and chairman, of the
Liberty Street Community Development Corp.
lit August, Shaw announced that his last day with the
CDC, a private nonprofit that works to revitalize the
Liberty Street Corridor, would be Oct. 31, 2014. The
board was supposed to meet the following month to dis
cuss finding his replacement.
Now, the 10-member board has decided to dispose of
the assets and debts before dissolving Liberty CDC alto
gether.
Shaw
"We are not looking for an
executive director and do not antic
ipate doing so," said Vice
President and acting Chairman
Stan Senft. "In my opinion we are
not doing enough work up there to
justify hiring an executive director
who would spend the bulk of his or
her time raising money to pay their
salary. It makes no sense."
He said that he discussed all of
the options with the nonprofits'
founders and that they agree makes
no sense.
Board member Carrie Vickery said that the board is
trying to do the responsible thing.
' "It would be easy to say 'Ok, let's just string the CDC
along even though it's not pulling its weight or doing as
much as we should be for the sake of appearances' and
that's not the route we are taking," she said. "We decided
that the best thing for the community is to funnel those
dollars elsewhere."
She said that the nonprofit did attempt to look for other
options before making that decision.
"One of the thoughts we had originally was could we
combine with another CDC. That was a conversation we
See Liberty on A7
PROM DRESS GIVEAWAY
Paul foundation
moves generosity
to Winston-Salem
Charity Wagner tries on shoes.
Photos by Donna Rogers
Charity Wagner, a senior at Parkland High School, asks about shoes to go with prom dresses she likes.
She'll try them on later. Her mother, Carta Fulton, looks on.
Jada Paul visits
hometown to start
giving students
prom dresses
BY DONNA ROGERS
THE CHRONICLE
At first, it was hard to
figure out what was hap
pening in the large room at
the Marriott in downtown
Winston-Salem on the
morning of Saturday, Feb.
21.
Some girls were look
ing at shoes, purses and
other accessories.
Some girls were getting
their faces glamorized.
Some were standing in
lines holding dresses, wait
ing to try them on.
Others were looking at
dresses on racks.
Everyone appeared to
be having fun.
What was going on was
a Prom Dress Giveaway
sponsored by the Chris
Paul Family Foundation.
The experience was totally
free for the 65 girls - 50
pre-selected and 15 who
attended atter hearing
about the event. They had
the opportunity to choose
new and vintage gowns,
shoes, jewelry and acces
sories.
The event featured a
fashion show with models
from the dance team
Scarlet Lace. from
Winston-Salem State
University; makeup
demonstrations; motiva
tional speakers promoting
education, self-esteem and
healthy lifestyles; prizes;
giveaways; food; and bev
erages. .
This was the first Prom
Dress Giveaway the foun
dation has sponsored in
Winston-Salem.
See Giveaway on A2
Jada Crawley Paul, a 2002 graduate qf Mount Tabor High, came
to town for the first Prom Dress Giveaway sponsored by the Chris
Paul Family Foundation.
Efforts underway
to renew expired
historic tax credit
BY TODD LUCK <
THE CHRONICLE j
As of this year. North ?
Carolina no longer has its (
long-standing Historic ,
Preservation Tax Credit,
which was credited by
many for spurring growth
in downtown Winston- |
Salem and beyond. ?
First enacted in 1998, i
the credit offers tax breaks
for rehabilitating historic ,
buildings. It expired at the
end of 2014 as part of a tax
reform bill passed with
Republican support
designed to eliminate tax
breaks and lower the tax
rate overall.
Republican Gov. Pat
McCrory has proposed a
new historic tax credit that
would offer smaller incen
tives to bigger projects
with an overall cap on the
program, and restoring the
also eliminated tax break
for movies made in the
state. House Rep. Ed Hanes
of the 72nd District is
among the Democrats
sponsoring a omnibus eco
nomic development bill to
bring back the full, unal
tered historic tax credit,
along with other measures
like rerestablishing the
movie tax credit and earned
income tax credit.
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help everyone and that's
what the Historic
Preservation Tax Credit
does," said Hanes.
According to the N.C.
State Historic Preservation
office, nearly $300 million
of rehabilitation work has
been done in 39 completed
commercial projects in
Forsyth County since 1998.
Nearly $16 million of reha
bilitation work has been
done on 124 non-income
producing residential proj
ects in Forsyth. Though
:xpired,. work done
hrough the end of last year
itill counts for the credit.
Construction or new proj
:cts this year do not.
City Council Member
feffst Macintosh said
Wjnsjon-Salem has a high
lUTfiber of historic districts
and properties. He said the
tax credit often makes
restoring buildings finan
cially feasible when it
wouldn't otherwise be. He
said its been vital to proj
ects that have helped revi
t a 1 i z e
down
town,
like turn
ing the
Nissen
Building
into
apart
ments in
2006 and
trans
formine
c?
an empty tobacco plant into
525@Vine, a laboratory
and office complex in the
Innovation Quarter, which
opened last year. He said
without it, many develop
ers will look to other states
that offer the credit.
"It's been so beneficial
to Winston-Salem," he
said. "The bottom line is
that so much restoration v
work, all that money in the
ground, wouldn't have
occurred at all without this
credit."
He's personally used
the tax credit several times
on qualifying houses. He
and his wife, Susan, spe
cialize in buying old
homes, restoring them,
then reselling them. He
said one house, which took
about $65,000 worth of
work to restore, gave him a
See Tax Credits on A2
Washington
Artivity on the Green designed to spruce up Liberty Street area
BY CHANEL DAVIS
THE CHRONICLE
Many downtown residents have kept a close
eye on the construction that's transforming a
dilapidated parking lot in the heart of the Arts
District into an outdoor space that will be just as
unique as the area around it.
In May, residents will get a chance to see just
how much.
The art-themed park, between Sixth and
Seventh streets, will be called Artivity on the
Green and is made possible through a grant from
the Thomas J. Regan Jr. Foundation to Arts for
Arts Sake (AFAS). Opening day is expected to be
on May 2, complete with a ribbon-cutting and
food trucks.
The local nonprofit initiates or supports a wide
variety of free special events and programs
designed for residents to enjoy and create local
art.
"It dresses up Liberty Street, which is in dire
need of dressing up," said Harry Knabb, chairman
and CEO for AFAS. "There will be a place to go
in the afternoons and for residents in the area to
have some green space."
Councilman Derwin Montgomery said that the
park is just another great amenity that adds to the
area. He also believes that it's just the beginning
of an overhaul of Liberty
? Street
"The Liberty Street area
is the next frontier of devel
opment in the area. This is
leading the way along that
corridor. It is going to bring a
much-needed sense of activi
ty," he said. "Artivity is going
to be symbolic of the art and
activity that will be happen
See Park on A3
Montgomery
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